The sky was blue with little clouds that could be seen and the sun was scorching hot.
At this time, the West Market in a country called Lantian was bustling with people going in and out of it to trade.
Lantian was a region along the Great River. Because of its location, this country has become an important place where ships would stop by and the merchants would come to trade.
In the west part of the city was a big port built to accommodate the merchants' ships. The West Market of the Lantian was the place to be for big merchants to meet and trade their commodities.
The existence of this market has made the City busy. Along the side of the road, colorful flags hung up high, small stalls were set up, peddlers shouted for the customer to stop by and the customers walked around the market with excitement.
Once in a while, the city guard would walk by, patrolling the area. Because the Western Market was very bustling with commerce activities, the authorities were facing a big problem—theft.
In one of the busy streets of the moth part of this market, a young girl was seen running through the people. Her body was thin and frail. Her clothes were shabby, but she looked clean. Her long hair was tied into a ponytail with only a string. Perhaps because she was malnourished, her physique resembled that of a young boy.
As the young girl ran bumped into others shouts, curses, and angry voices could be heard, creating a little commotion and turning the market livelier.
If one looked at the girl carefully, they would soon notice that this girl was very agile. Although she had bumped into several people, she had evaded the merchants and peddlers skillfully, and thus, none of the merchandise were affected and none of the stalls were broken.
One time, she would jump high to avoid the men who were transferring their goods. Another time, she would slide on the ground to avoid other merchants, causing the yellow dust to scatter and blinding her chasers momentarily.
Just as the dust disappeared, a group of men in uniform was seen emerging from the dust, pushing the merchants and the passerby aside without a second thought.
"Stop! Thief!" One of the men in uniform halted to catch up his breath before he continued to chase after the girl.
At the junction, two officials stood at the northern entrance of the market. One of them was holding a brush and a workbook, while a few others were checking at the goods on the merchant's cart before the merchants could bring in their goods into the market.
Just then, a gust of wind passed and when the officials turned around, the girl had ran passed them to exit through the market door.
"Hey stop! Help us stop that thief!"
The officials at the door turned around to look at the direction where the girl had run off to before a few of them joined the chasing party and the group of chasers turned bigger.
The person who was currently on the run from that group of officials muttered a curse as she turned around to look at those groups of men who were still on her tail. Seeing a big crowd in front of her, her lips curled into a mischievous smile.
She headed over to the crowd and slipped through the sea of people. Every time she passed through someone, the people would curse at her.
However, she was used to hearing those words that she no longer minds.
A laugh escaped her once she noticed that her chasers were stopped by the crowd.
She had been stealing on the street for two years and the authorities had never got to her even once.
This person was no other than Yu Feng, the legendary street thief who had never been caught!
Because Yu Feng grew up in the city, she had become very familiar with the street and alley of the market. When was the busiest time on a certain road and when will be the guards would patrol by the streets? Yu Feng knew them like the back of her hand. Coupled with how she fast she can run, it was impossible for the authorities to catch her.
Soon, her eyes narrowed and the smile quickly disappeared as Yu Feng thought of how the situation she was facing at the moment. It seemed that those men were very eager to catch her today.
She had visited the market and had only stolen a loaf that morning. Usually, after chasing for some short distance, the group of men would give up chasing her. However, things were different today.
No matter how much Yu Feng thought about it, she could not figure out why the authorities were too eager to catch her over a loaf of bread. Such petty crimes were something that the authorities would care much.
Noticing that she had almost reached the end of the road, Yu Feng's eyes glinted with joy and she picked up her speed.
Just a little bit.
Soon, she was going to enter the main road, the busiest road in the city and then, those guys will lose her and will no longer be able to chase after her.
She was going to turn into another street and then, head home to her family. She had not fed those children and she was very sure that they were very hungry at this time.
At the thought of her starving cats, Yu Feng picked up her speed and sprinted. She turned around to the busy street and smiled, knowing that she had lost her tails.
The smile on her face did not last very long.
Yu Feng staggered backward when she realized that she had bumped into something or someone.
Another curse escaped her and Yu Feng rubbed at her nose. Her eyes were misty as she looked up to the person.
The man was dressed elegantly in his dark blue robe. His hands were both at his back as he stood up straight. Yu Feng had seen a lot of local and foreign men in the city, but she found that none of them were as good looking as this man. Judging from his temperance, Yu Feng was able to guess that this man was an important and dangerous person.
He had a clean face, sharp jaw, thin lips, a pair of sharp eyes coupled with sword-like brows. He squinted his eyes slightly and the corner of his thin lips tilted up as he looked at her. There was a noble and arrogant air around him that gave her a feeling of wanting to punch his face without any reason at all.
Yu Feng quickly collected herself and recalled that she was in an important mission.
"Sorry." Yu Feng bowed slightly and turned around to make her escape.
However, just before she was able to take another step, someone had grabbed her arms. Yu Feng turned around and saw that it was the man in a blue robe.
"Ow! Ow! Hey! Easy!" Yu Feng yelped. She frowned at the man and spoke. "I said I'm sorry. Can you let me go? I'm in a hurry here."
The man did not answer her. Instead, he tightened his grip on her arm and turned to his left.
It was at this time that Yu Feng realized that the man was not alone. Beside him was Officer Zhou, the man who has been trying to chase her for years along with his men.
Her throat rolled and her body slumped when she realized that she was done this time.
She had been playing cat and mouse for years with Officer Zhou, and this time... after two years... she was caught!
"Is this the person?" The man in the blue robe asked Officer Zhou.
Officer Zhou stared back at her and the smile on his lips grew wider. "Yes, My Lord, this is the person."
The man in the blue robe shifted his gaze to her and his smile widened. Looking at his smile, Yu Feng suddenly had a premonition.